Thursday, June 9, 2011

A couple days ago I mentioned that I was down in LA on some semi-secret business. Believe it or not, I was hired on as the Senior Food Producer for a new ABC pilot called "Time Machine Chefs."

I'll be here for a few weeks helping make sure this is the biggest smash hit cooking show since Top Chef. I wish I could give more details, but for obvious reasons I can't.

I was brought in by my great friend, Jude Weng, a very talented and accomplished producer who specializes in unscripted television shows (she worked on the very first Survivor!). Speaking of unscripted television shows, the video below is the sizzle reel (which is a sort of quick and dirty mini-pilot) we did together a few years ago for a show idea called, "Can't Boil Water."

It hasn't been picked up yet, but who knows, maybe now that she's given me permission to post it, a bunch of offers will roll in. I'm joined by my student, Becky Nuse, her fiance Mario, and my good buddy, Sara (aka Average Betty). Enjoy!

This is a breath of fresh air to a tv world inflated with cooking shows. With Johns charisma and teaching skills hopefully this will give some new flavour to an all to bland sauce. Good luck with the show John.

I like your part and I like the idea but I don't like this show pilot at all. It feels very staged; everyone there(except you)is talking like in some god-damned infomercial. Theirs is not a spontaneous delivery - it feels like bright testimonials - speaking straight into the camera in the most cheerful tone - and my gut reaction is: Is there going to be a 1-800 number at the end?

I don't know whether the director of this clip had background in advertisement, maybe you should try to get someone who has done documentaries instead. Sorry.

I would fly from spain to cook with you in a heart beat! I think you are THE MAN to teach people how to cook! I wasn't at all confident with my cooking but ever since I've been following your videos I LOVE to cook!! Even my husbands family fight over my deserts! What an awesome idea for a show! I would totally watch this!!

I'd watch every episode of "Can't Boil Water" -- what a brilliant idea! Many cooks need help and have no where to turn. Who will show us how to season a steak or the proper way to hold a knife? Wonderful!

I had soooo much fun watching this video!You explain it so well. Just a show where you explain in your own unique way all the skills would do it for me!Keep up the good work chef John!

I do have one question, as a European living in the States I've always wondered about how people hold their fork while cutting their food, to me it looks like a kid that's holding their fork for the first time!!

Chef John, I'm a big fan of yours, and I enjoyed watching you in this clip. However, I much prefer the video-recipe format you pioneered so well, where one can actually learn about food and cooking. I think it would be a real shame if you became yet another chef with a "cooking show," where the focus is on lame human interest stories and the food and cooking fade into the background.

Wow, I just started watching accidentally on Food Nation and was instantly hooked. I just learned to hold a knife and season meat with this video. I need the next lessons, I am so ignorant in the kitchen. Please help!!!

I was thinking of asking this in an email but I figured others could benefit from your wisdom. I've looked and your site and haven't seen an answer, so here goes: "It seems Santoku style knives are all the rage now. How do you feel they compare to the classic chef's knife in all around kitchen usage? What tasks do you feel they excel at and which ones do you think they are still bested by a chef's knife?"

My knife set didn't come with one and I feel like I'm missing something by not having one. Unfortunately, I spent more than I should have on the knives and don't want to spend even more on a knife I won't use.

Chef, congrats on the new show I'm sure it'll be a major success, I'm really grateful for your videos and i know the feeling she had when she realized she could cook! thanks for that and i can't wait to see your tv show!!!

This is exactly what I was talking about with my daughter when you first started posting about talking to the Food Network folks! I'd love to see a show that doesn't only demo a recipe, but actually shows someone learning the techniques. It would give the opportunity for the inevitable home-cook questions that arise (Why can't I do it this way? What's wrong with adding this ingredient now?). The salt demo was brilliant! Visual aids! I hope you get to do this at some point. It's a point of view that's lacking from current programming. I guess "Worst Cooks In America" is kinda like this idea - but who wants to think of themselves as the worst??